The Huge Magical Snake Problem

The Haven

Dudley, surprisingly, said, "Just an orange." When Harry raised an eyebrow, he elucidated. "I need to lose some weight, obviously. I'm trying to take my diet seriously. Well, more seriously than I have been over the past few years."

Harry nodded, understanding. He ordered an orange, and two seconds later, one appeared in the hearth. Now that he thought about it, Dudley had been eating less than usual. Good for him.

Harry settled back down at the table, across from Severus. "So... why did you wake us up this early? Are we going somewhere?"

The man had closed his eyes again. He opened them and simply replied, "Yes." Harry twisted his wrist, asking for more of an explanation. "I have made plans to relocate for the rest of the summer."

Out of all of the things Harry was expecting, that was a response that was lower down on the list. He poured his glass of milk over the cereal. "...What? Where?" he finally asked.

"I inherited a domicile from my deceased mother." Severus finished the last of his tea before continuing. "It's official name is Prince Manor, but everyone that knows of its existence calls it Haven."

Harry wondered about that. Why was it that almost every home in the wizarding world had a name? The Weasley's home was called the Burrow, the British school of witchcraft and wizardry was named Hogwarts, and Malfoy's home was simply called the Manor. He voiced this question, genuinely curious.

"Any building that houses a great number of magical beings or items imbues some of the magic itself. That being said, Hogwarts has an aura of learning, and the Malfoys' Manor has an aura of Dark magic. This gives the dwelling a bit of a personality. Grimmauld Place used to have a name, but the Blacks didn't like the idea of their house having a 'personality.'"

That really didn't make sense to Harry, but he nodded anyways.

"What issss happening?" Nagini asked curiously.

"Apparently, Ssssevere-Sssstern hassss a home that isss called Haven, and we're gonna ssspend the ressst of the ssssumer there."

The snake looked thoughtful. "He never told my previoussss massster about thisss houssse."

"Gee, I wonder why," Harry hissed sarcastically.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Not for the first time in his life, Harry thanked the heavens above for shrinking charms. This allowed him to fit his trunk into his robe pocket instead of lugging it around. Nagini partially curled around his ankles, preparing to be stuck on Harry's body.

Severus stepped into the fireplace first. "To enter Prince Manor, you must speak the words 'the Haven.' I have rearranged the wards to recognize the both of you, so you should not have any difficulty arriving at your destination." When both Harry nodded, he grabbed a handful of floo powder and vanished in a pillar of green flame.

Harry turned to Dudley, who looked perplexed. Then, he remembered that his cousin didn't know how to move along the floo network. Could Muggles even use the floo? Apparently Severus thought they could.

Stepping over Nagini's numerous coils, he led Dudley over to the hearth. "What you need to do is simple. Just grab a pinch of this gray powder here," he gestured to the floo powder, "step into the fireplace, and throw it down. As you throw it, you say 'the Haven' really clearly. Easy as pie, right?"

Dudley looked petrified. "Easy as pie," he murmured. He let himself get led into the fireplace, and Harry handed him the bowl of floo powder. He tentatively picked up a handful of the powder, and he took a deep breath. He threw it down, while bellowing, "THE HAVEN!"